Microsoft Grants DARPA Access to Quantum Computing Hardware
Microsoft has granted the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) direct access to its Majorana 2 quantum computer, allowing DARPA to conduct independent testing and evaluation. The arrangement is part of a new research center opened by Microsoft in Maryland with the University of Maryland and other industry partners.
The Majorana 2 chip is a key component of Microsoft's quantum computing technology, which is capable of addressing problems that would take conventional machines thousands of years to solve. National security specialists are particularly interested in the ability to protect and break encrypted communications using quantum computers.
Zulfi Alam, corporate vice president of Microsoft Quantum, stated that DARPA will begin with the Majorana 2 chip, while the system in Maryland is being built to accommodate future chips Microsoft is developing.